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- T H E T R I C H U R C H UR C H .
A s s a m . 19 features bad stru c k me as strange, and o b s e r v in g them more closely I saw that each one bore an ex tr ao r din ar y tattoomark. This was a cro s s neatly des ig ned and painted in d a rk blue c o lo u r on th eir faces. Th e grea ter num ber bad these crosses tattooed on the foreh ea d : som e had them on the nose, and others had one o f double lines stre tch in g fr om the top oE the for eh ead to the po in t o f the nose. The sava ges could not tell me the o r ig i n o f this sy m bol ; all they knew was that one who wore it was protected in this life and rapt im mediately to H eaven after bis death, and that the Supreme B e in g d iv id ed His bappiu ess with those marked with the Cross ! I made them understand that I was a priest, a master o f prayer, and that I had c om e to tell them o f the myst erious power o f this Cross. I took my own cru cifix fr om my neck, kissed the figure o f Our L o r d , and each one o f the sa va ges kissed it in turn after m e . ” H ow ever, Fr. K r ic k co u ld arran ge n oth in g definite with them, they would not even pr ovide the necessary car riers, and so his plan had to be ab andoned and be bad to co ntent himself with v is it in g the Kamptis and returned afterw ards to G auhati. That Sign o f the Cross which he had found am ongst the sa vages seemed to say that their an cesto rs had been ev angelised perhaps in the thirteenth or fourt een th century. H is tory tells us that St. G ia c in to o f Poland and Blessed Oderic o f Friu li had penetrated bey ond the Himalayas and ev angeli sed Tibet, g a in in g daily vic tories ov er ba rb aris m and infidelity, and the famous legend o f T s o n g - K a b a seems to point to even an earlier attempt at e vangeli sation in those regions.
In 1853, the dauntless Missionar y wanted to make anoth er attempt to reach the in terior of T ib et but he was not allowed. In the f o llo w in g year, however, in c o m p a n y with Fr. Bourry he set out on a third exped ition and was det ermined that this time noth in g would turn him from his purpos e and he would attem pt the passage at all costs. A c c o r d i n g to the D ela n ou gerede fam ily the Missionaries had taken m a ny gifts with them to distr ibute to the tribal chiefs. One o f these sa vages, whose greed had been aroused at the sight o f the M issio n arie s’ b a g g a g e , determ ined to murder and rob them. Fr. K r i c k was one m orn in g re citin g his Breviary when the assassin stole up quietly behind him and) when the M is sio n ary bent down to p lu ck a flower 20 A s s a m . g r o w in g in the path, c u t off his bead at one fell stroke. Fr. B ou r ry who bad been ill that m o r n in g was ly in g in bed in bis tent when he was su dden ly arouse d by the en tr a n ce o f this savage c h ie f and some o f bis fr ie nds. The priest was a stro n g man. and when he u nderstood the intention s o f his v is it o rs he s t ro v e by ev ery means in his pow er to def en d him self but was o v e r c o m e b y numbers. His head was c u t off and his b o d y hacked to pieces. His servan t m a na ge d to escap e and c a r r y the news to G auhati. A m ilita ry ex p e d itio n which was sent ag ainst these natives by tbe E n g lish G ove r n m e n t a v e n ged the c ru e l death o f the first m art yrs o f A ssa m . Fr . Bern ard visited N o w g o n g where he erected a little cb ap el and from this place set out fo r D ar je elin g h op in g to effect an e n tran ce into T ib et from there. The English G o v e r n ment had gra nted a p ie ce o f land to the Missionar ies, the same on w hich the Mission Station stands to-day. Fr. R o b in th ou gh t o f c a lli n g the T rappists to that part but si ckness p reven ted h i m . fr om m ate ria lis ing bis plan and the land retu rn ed to the G overnm ent. A f t e r this no M is sio nary was seen in Assam till 1860 when one day a H in d o o Babu came to in form tbe D elanougerede fa m ily that a Catholic priest bad sought lo d g in g s at the bu n ga lo w . This was Fr. M ercie r from D ac ca . He bad done the w hole jo u r n e y on f o o t and d u rin g the cou r se o f it had been robbed o f his boots and sto ck in g s. Only one who knews the gre at d is ta nce he had to travel, the difficulties he had to o v e r c o m e and tbe e x cessiv e heat he bad to c ontend with, can have a ju st idea o f the g ig a n t ic task which tbe g o o d Father had set himself. H e had travelled ov e r a thousand kilometres, o v e r m ounta ins and through valleys, under a s c o r c h i n g sun and with no c o n v e n ie n c e s, it was al togeth er a st ra ng e u nde r ta k in g and, f o r any but tbe highest motives, an im prudent one.
D u r in g his stay he was fitted out with a new pa ir of boots, and he afterw ards retu rn ed in the same manner and by the same way as he had come. Other priests came f r o m D ac ca for shor t intervals but had alw ays to retu rn on a c c o u n t o f si ck ness o r fo r som e other reason.
Fr. James De B r o y arriv ed in 1872 and be was tbe first M is sio nary to be stationed definitely in Assa m. He was an Italian by birth and belonged to the Missionaries of Calogero o f Milan. His s o jo u r n am ongst the people o f Assa m lasted until the arrival of the Fathers of the D iv ine Saviour A ssa m . in 1890. D u r in g this time— nearly eighteen year s— the zealous pr iest travelled fr o m centre to ce ntre a lo n g the valley, and b ein g o f a brig ht and cheerful dis positio n he was well loved and lo n g re membere d by the people o f these regio n s. He left A s sa m to en ter the Jesuit n o v ic ia te but his rem ainin g years on earth were f e w : he was strick e n with ap oplexy whilst s a y in g Mass and died at B a r r a c k p o r e in 1898. Fr. De B r o y had been sent b y the Bishop o f K ris h n a ga r under whose j u r is d i c t io n the A s sa m M ission was at that time. The M ission first be lon g e d to the P r efectu r e A p o s t o l ic of Ben gal ; it wa? annexed to the V i c a r ia t e o f T ib et in 1850, but was finally restored to Ben gal so that the Bish op o f K ris h n a g a r had to send Missionar ies here until the P re fe ctu re A p o s t o l ic was erected. R i g h t f r o m 1918, the C o n g re g atio n o f the P r o p a g a tion o f the Faith bad asked us to take o v e r this Mission so badly in need o f help, but our own sc a r c ity o f personnel had com pell ed us to refuse. H ow ever, after a time, when the same C o n g re g a tion insisted, we managed so m ehow to get to geth or eleven valiant Missionaries, who made their preparation s at o n ce and sailed from Marseilles on the 24th of D ecem ber, 1921, a r r iv i n g in A s s a m on the 12th o f Janu ary 1922. They saw at o n c e the great promise there was fo r the Faith in that far away land, though at the same time the difficulties in the way did not escape their n o t ic e : but these did not deter them for they had unlimited faith in the Help o f Christians whose statue they were r e jo ic e d to find alrea dy installed in the Church at Shillong, and they set to w ork immediately. On the 27th o f Janu ary, a f ortn ig h t after our ar rival in India, Fr. Ca rb ery, S. J ., a de vote d M is sio nary la b o u rin g in the valley of the Brah mapu tra had the m isfortu ne to f«ll and b re ak his leg on one o f his e x cu rsio n s, and it was necpssary that his place should be taken at o n c e by one of our brethren. Fr. Gil set out im mediately and a r r iv i n g at Gauha ti, the c e n tral post o f the Mission , on the 1st o f March began to ex plore the valley, and to learn the la nguage, usages, and custo m s o f the people. But even before this, the visit to Assa m o f the Superior General o f the Sisters of Our L ad y o f the Mission, had enabled us to instil new life into the M ission-sta tion at Ralinng, where Fr . G rig n ard, in spite o f all his efforts and sa crifices, had not A s s a m . been able to do the w o rk o f the two M is sio n ary Fathers, two Br oth ers and three Sisters who had been la b o u r i n g there b e fo r e the war and who had to depa rt when that c ata stroph e br ok e out. The Rev. Mother d ec la r e d hers elf to g iv e us some o f her Sisters for im med ia te w o rk on the Mission , and so on the feast o f O ar L a d y o£ L ou rde s o u r little band was bro k e n up, Frs. H a u b e r and D eponti, and Br oth ers Calzi and Conti b e i n g chosen for R a lia n g . W e ac c o m p a n ie d them several miles on their way, and then with a hearty farewell, w ish in g them G od-speed and all su cce ss on their new » p o s t d a t e , we to o k our leave o f them. Fou r Sisters set out on the same jo u r n e y so m e da ys later, so in v ery truth R a iia n g was g iv e n a new lease o f re lig iou s life. But trials were not l a c k in g for us ev en from the first : Fr. G r ig n a r d fell serio u sly ill and was not fu lly resto red to health until May, and then bis Superio rs recalled him to bis fo r m er Mission where his I elp was u rg e n tly needed ; this left ou r br eth er n w o r k in g by th emselves at G au bati and R a lia ng . In the meantime oth er ev ents o c c u r r e d to remind us th »t Our L ord wishes for sa cr ific e and su ff erin g as a ba sis for every w ork o f r edem ptio n. Being an x io us to a c q u ir e an a c c u r a t e k u o w ie d g e o f the needs o f the Mission and o f its possib ilit ie s as soou as possible I d e c id e d , after h a v i n g made a v isita tion o f the e x istin g st at ions, to set out with Fr. L e f e b v r e for one o f the d is tr ic ts o f B b oi c o u n tr y. W e started off on the 6th o f March, and, h a v in g been ba dly d ir e c ted , we fo u n d ours elves , at eleven o ’ c l o c k that same night still in the m iddle o f da rk forest, where mor e than o n ce the b o w lin g of w i t i beasts ren dered us silen t and th ou gh tfu l and not a little afraid. The sound o f a drum reached us on the nig ht air, and seemed to say that not far off there must be hum an h abita tion s. W e follow ed the so u n d and soon cam e apon a rude b a m b o o hut m u ch dilapid ated and o ffering a loop -hole f o r the e n tr a n ce o f ev ery wind that blew. A fam ily feas t was in pr o g r e ss an d we were invited to make ourselv es at h om e and to share with the inmates the pr o tec tion o f the rude dwelling. W h e n the revels were ended all huddled together to seek some r epose— a c u rio u s m ixture o f human be ing s and d o m e s tic animals ! W e stretch ed ourselv es out in a c o r n e r and e n d e a v o u r e d to get what rest we could until the dawn o f the A b s a m . 23 new day. The c o n d i tio n in whicli we fou nd ourselves and certain visitors who paid us their attentions d u r i n g the night rem in ded us o f the tr enches, and ou r sl um ber was a n y th ing but peacefu l. E arly in the m o r n in g we said Mass and set out again on o ur way, but we had mistaken the route, and da rk ness fou nd us ag ain at fault and th ankful for a very humble shelter. We were a m o n g st the Mikirs, many o f whom, no doubt , had never seen a Europea n, and sc rutin ise d us by the light o f their b l a z in g fires as though we were o ddities, and I su ppose that, to them, we pr esented rather an u ncan n y aspect. W e could see that the whole c o u n tr y -s id e was c elebr atin g some feast or other for there were sigus o f revelry every where. A ft e r pa rtak in g o f some refre shm ent we looked ab ou t and d is co v e r e d an empty hut which appea red to be ab an don ed, and which would suit us v ery n ic e ly, we th ou gh t, as sleepin g quar ters fo r the night. W e a p propr ia te d it forth wit h and bad ju s t tu cked ou rselv es in n icely (a sim ple p ro ce ss on the w h o le ), when the natives, w ho bad seemed rather to av oid us b efo re, now cam e t r o o p in g into our qu arters and im pro vis ed a ball and nati ve gam es which lasted till m o r n in g , and all to the a c c o m p a n im e n t o f in cessant d r u m m in g on ta mbours and the p ip in g o f reed inst ruments that did not cease even fo r an instant. Th en the fire had to be kept g o in g all the time, and as the hut was k n o w n to be unused liberal use was made o f the ma terials that c o m p o s e d it, so that v ery soon we were as g o o d as ly in g in the open. S eeing that we had made an unh app y c h o ic e o f a hotel we g o t on the road again at a very early hour an d stumbled on ou r way still v ery sleepy. A t 9 o ’ c l o c k we arriv ed at U m pan ay where we fou nd our first few Catholics, and where we were able to cele brate Mass. This first roun d that we made lasted fifteen days and was the o c c a s io n o f many disappointm ents for us. The difficulty o f fin ding roads and footpath s, the great wide rivers that had to be crossed, the high mou nta ins to be scaled and the lack o f su stainin g f o o d — all helped to weaken us almost to the last extreme. W e de cid ed to w ork ou r way b a c k to Shillong bu t little susp ected that 70 miles lay between us and our r esid en ce there, and that another chain o f lofty mountains had |o be crQs§ed. But we m a na ge d it som eh ow and a rriv e d
24 A s s a m . at Sh il lo ng at IL o ’ c l o c k one night in a rather pitiable c o n dit io n and s c a r c e ly able to d r a g our w eary limbs after us. It m igh t be th ou ght that we bad been im p ru d e n t but it was all really due to our ig n o r a n c e o f the c o u n t r y : we had to pay dearly, howev er, for ou r e x p erie n c e — poo r Fr. L e f e b v r e had to take to bed almost im media tely and afte r eight days set out on the lo n g jo u r n e y fr om w hich there is no retu rn in g, fortifie d by all the co n s o la t io n s o f Moth er Church, and e d i f y i n g us all by his holy dis po sition s and resig na tio n , I be g an to feel unwell m y self from that time, and after an oth er Trisit to G auhati was st riken with ty ph oid which, with the m a n y c o m p li c a tio n s that follow ed on it, kept me in bed for many months. These were the first trials that c ha ra cteris ed the initial stag es o f our Assa m apostolate, and m a ny m i n o r ones ac c o m p a n ie d them. A beautiful statue o f Our L a d y, Help o f Ch ristians, d e spatch e d to us by ou r S u perio r General, Fr. R in a ld i, w ent astr ay and has never been heard of, our school at H o n gb a h was b u rnt dow n, and our large and beautiful c h u rc h at Sh il lo ng was th reate n in g to c ollap se o w in g to a series o f earthqu akes in that part. But n otw it h stan din g all we have m u ch to be th ankful f o r ; God has blessed ou r w o rk and o u r sa crific es have not been without fruit. In
N o v e m b e r o u r small num ber was r e in f o r c e d b y the arrival o f anoth er c o n t in g e n t o f Salesians, and more r e in fo r c e m e n ts reached us in Ja n u a ry , 1923, so that we were c o m p elled to utter a sp ecia l pr ayer o f gra titude to G od, to Our L a d y , Help o f Christians, and to Don B o s co. D u r in g that month the Jes uit Fat hers, who had g iv en ju s such v alu able assistance r ig h t fr om the b eg in ning , w ithdr ew entirely from the Mission, their ser v ice s being requ ir ed for the needs o f their ow n vast territ ory in Bengal. A n d now the Salesians. sc atte red about the c o u n tr y in v ario us re si dences, do what they can for the exte nsio n of the k in g d o m o f Christ in the midst o f those millio n s o f souls who in habit the vast P r e fe ct u r e confid ed to the C o n g reg a tio n by the Church.
T H E T R I C H U R C H UR C H . A B
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H i s t o r y . The town was entirely p a g a n and was one o£ tbe p r i n c i pal centre s o f H in du is m , In 1812 Fif ty-tw o Catholic fam ilies fr om Oilur, A r a n a t tn k a r a and oth er n e ig h b o u r in g villa ges were bro u gh t ov er to T rich u r by the ex press wish o f the then r e ig n in g R a j* o f Cochin. The Ra ja e n c o u r a g e d them to c a r r y on different kin ds o f trade, s u p p ly in g them with the r equ isite capital and setting ap ar t a central pa rt o f tbe town with the name Pu thenpetta (n e w street ) for their residence. V e r y soon His Highness g ra n te d them by a theettoora m ( R o y a l e d ic t ) a suitable site f o r tbe er ectio n o f a c hu rch . In 1814 the chu rc h was built under the J u r is d i c t io n o f Goa repr'esented by a p rie st— G o v e r n o r o f Cran gan ore. It was
dedicated to Our L a d y o f Dolours. Th e c h u rc h c o n t in u e d to be uuder the Po rtu gu e se P a d ro a d o till 1838, when by a P a p a l dec ree, Multum prceclare, this c h u rc h together with oth er Syrian c h u rch e s under tbe P a d ro a d o was tran sfe rre d to the ju r is d ic t io n o f tbe A r c h b is h o p o f V e r a p o ly su bsequ en t to a C o n c o rd a t between the V a tic a n and the P o rtu gu ese G o v e r n ment.
From 1838 tbe c h u rc h remained s u b je c t to the V i c a r ia te A p o s t o l ic o f V e r a p o l y till 1861. The F irst Schism, In 1861 a certain R o m o -S y ria n Bishop b y name T h om as R o c o s was sent to M ala bar by Joseph Oudo, Cath olic P a t ria r ch o f B a bylo n , in r espon se to the oftrepe ate d requests o f some o f the R om o-S yrian s o f Malabar. On a r r iv i n g here Bishop R o c o s called himself “ M etropolitan and Com m is sio ner o f the R om an Catholic Syrians in M ala ba r” . A lm o st all tbe R o m o -S y ria n chu rch es in M alaba r in c l u d i n g the chu rch o f Our L a d y o f Dolours at T r ich u r, subm itted to him. But tbe sch is m en ded in 1862 wben B ish o p R o c o s b e in g c o n v in c e d o f his w r o n g attitnde, chiefly through the efforts o f the M is s ion aries o f V e r a p o l y , sailed ba ck from Coc hin. 4
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